Suggestions for Cash buyer with budget of £100k

[onlychildhamster]

Asking for a friend. A friend of mine (in her 40s) has been made redundant and therefore can't afford to rent in London anymore. She also has depression and is thinking of buying a place in cash, as she has 100k in savings from her divorce settlement which makes her ineligible for benefits. Given the budget (and probably because I am biased as a London flat owner), I suggested a 1-2 bed apartment in a place like Manchester or Edinburgh (I found a few examples) where she can probably find work easily and get around easily (as she doesn't drive) but she is looking for a 4 bed house in Sheffield cos she wants to either rent out rooms for income or get a live in carer who would help her in exchange for free rent .I did look at rightmove and there were houses in that budget- is there any catch, are those areas rough i.e. www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/111278462

I wonder if anyone in Mumsnet would have any insight- what is best for a low income individual/individual on benefits with depression- a small flat or a 4 bed house. I was thinking that a bigger house might be harder to manage esp as she has depression and may have more repairs.And there is no guarantee that you can find a lodger/willing carer. Her gripe against a flat is high service charges but there are flats that don't have high service charges and surely bigger houses also require money for roof repairs etc. What do you all think?

I just sold a one bed flat in Edinburgh £145k and that cheap but the maintenance was like a second Council Tax.

She struggle to find anything under 100k. Maybe a garage or part owned flats with a housing association. She still have to paid rent.

Maybe if she went further north but that quite isolating for someone on their own.

You should get a decent house in Doncaster for that…. Good transport links, countryside etc if keeping away from city centre

I think you need to dissuade your friend from the buying a large house and renting out rooms idea. Apart from her budget being far too low for anything habitable in an area she’d want to live in (or which would have a market for renting rooms), having lodgers and living with strangers who often have their own quirks can be very stressful and is likely to exacerbate her depression. She’s also likely to be very difficult to live with when she’s at her most depressed to the point she’s housebound, an unfair burden to place on lodgers. It’s just got disaster written all over it. Moving away from friends and everything she knows is also unlikely to help her mental health.

That all said, I lived near Lanark for several years and found it quite an endearing little place. Decent facilities and a trainline into Glasgow: www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/find.html?locationIdentifier=REGION%5E768&minBedrooms=2&sortType=1&propertyTypes=&mustHave=&dontShow=&furnishTypes=&keywords=

Be careful of flood risk and mining subsidence I. Cheap houses in S Yorks/NEDerbyshire. I’m not scaremongering! I’m a civil engineer engineer, S Yorks based and have spent most of my 25 year career addressing one or the other issue.

There are also some genuinely cheap parts of Sheffield, Chesterfield, Doncaster, Rotherham, but they are not necessarily all particularly nice.

There are many 2 bedroom flats in Glasgow advertised as 'offers over' £80,000, but as a previous poster said, Scottish property often sells for a lot more than the asking price. Your friend really needs to talk to estate agents, to find out what's realistic at the moment.
She'll need a Scottish solicitor, too.

Also, these cheap flats will not be in the most desirable or central parts of Glasgow - I don't mean crime etc (though there are a few rough areas), rather, they will be near very busy, dirty roads or industrial sites or above shops, or will be rather run down.

But - plus side - some of these flats will be in nice, substantial buildings, either Victorian tenements or 1930s 'cottage'-style, with gardens. There are also modern flats, too.

I am absolutely not an expert, but parts of formerly rough/poor/neglected Glasgow have been transformed in recent years. The example I know best is Dennistoun, which now has a conservation area and interesting shops and restuarants (and a lovely park nearby). I doubt very much whether there are flats (except very small) that sell for under £100,000 there, though there is this:
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/111528263#/?channel=RES_BUY
and this
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/111707330#/?channel=RES_BUY
Your friend might find something larger slightly further to the east - in Carntyne/Riddrie, for example:
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/111363590#/?channel=RES_BUY

But I think your friend is probably hoping for something much bigger/grander.

Glasgow has good public transport, and, I know it is a cliche, but in my experience as a regular visitor, I have always found it very friendly. It's got great (free/cheap) musuems/art galleries, parks and gardens, libraries, - and music and theatres etc etc.

But as others have said, to make so big a change, your friend really needs to visit lots of different places to see what's available there.

Oooh i have an idea!!! Is she dead set on having something to pass on after death or does she just want to be secure for life?

It sounds like the ideal solution for her would be to buy a flat in London on a short lease—say 50 or 60 years, that will last her for life but be cheap as extending would cost so much extra. It would still be saleable at the end (just not for anything like the price of an extended lease) but it would give her the exact lifestyle she wants for life, in her support system, plus she might be able to afford a 2nd bed for a live in carer?

I think her priority would be to take steps to work on her mental health, seek a job in an area which appeals to her and where there is a spectrum of housing, rent a room as a lodger while settling in and once established use the residual of her 100k to buy together with a mortgage from her employment.

OP do you find that when you offer her solutions she comes up with more complications/wish lists? Or is she actually listening and willing to compromise?

@Flowers500 that's an idea but she probably wouldn't like it! I don't think she has anyone to pass anything on to, no kids and no plans to have any.. but a flat in my area on a short lease was £435k. Granted it will probably sell for less and is a 3 bed... Not sure how much you wouls get for 100k.

@MondayYogurt she doesn't reject anything, she just says that it is an option and she ideally needs someone to care for her. As it is a recurring chronic illness. Her other option is renting until the money runs out. She says neither are great options but what you can do.

She can’t afford a live in carer, and she needs to accept that. She simply has nothing to offer someone for that. I don’t think she would find it easy to get someone to rent a room off her, someone who is regularly bed bound with depression is not a natural candidate to oversee a lodger

[quote onlychildhamster]@MondayYogurt she doesn't reject anything, she just says that it is an option and she ideally needs someone to care for her. As it is a recurring chronic illness. Her other option is renting until the money runs out. She says neither are great options but what you can do.[/quote]
I think the best thing you can so is firmly encourage her to be realistic about the prospects of finding someone to provide care for free. What sort of level of care is she likely to need? It’s one thing to offer free board in return for e.g. cleaning the house and running errands - you’re right, in London there are designated schemes which match e.g. mature students with elderly or less mobile people who need a bit of low level help in the house in return for free lodgings generally in a part of London they’d otherwise never be able to afford. But it’s unrealistic to expect that somebody living in a deprived and very cheap part of the country will be eager to lodge with a severely depressed person expecting a high level of support or even personal care, when the average rent for a room in a houseshare in the area is only a couple of hundred pounds a month anyway.

And in a lot of cheaper / more deprived parts of the UK, care work is often one of the main employment sectors. If somebody living in these areas wanted to be a carer, they’d generally be able to walk into an actual paid care job.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/find.html?locationIdentifier=REGION%5E61521&maxPrice=100000&propertyTypes=&mustHave=&dontShow=&furnishTypes=&keywords=

@Flowers500 maybe I am being really naive here but wouldn't there be someone willing to cook, clean and do some simple chores, help her out for reduced or even free rent?

She isn't the only person I know with this idea. my mother in law (who actually does own a 3 bed house in London) once told me that she hoped to do that when she is elderly.

What about a canal boat, or houseboat or chalet type home?

London is different. A room in a house share in many smart parts of London can easily be £1,000 a month including bills. Getting that free is worth being a lodger-carer for. In an area where a four bedroom house can be bought for £100k, a room in a houseshare will be about £200 a month. How much care would you be willing to provide for the equivalent of less than £50 a week?

@ComtesseDeSpair thanks for breaking it down, will share that with her

[quote onlychildhamster]@Flowers500 maybe I am being really naive here but wouldn't there be someone willing to cook, clean and do some simple chores, help her out for reduced or even free rent?

She isn't the only person I know with this idea. my mother in law (who actually does own a 3 bed house in London) once told me that she hoped to do that when she is elderly.[/quote]
It would depend on the property you’re offering. If it’s “have a free room in central London in a nice house” that’s miles away from “shithole cheap house in the cheapest area possible where you could comfortably rent the whole house on a below minimum wage salary.” It would also likely be students and people from abroad doing this—would there be any in the area anyway?

And I think it’s a v different proposition to live with a cute old lady who keeps her gorgeous home well but needs occasional help, vs someone so severely depressed she struggles to manage or get out of bed. I think even with a great house offering she would struggle to get many takers for that (depending on her needs—is it just a shop? Or does she want any care)? Even if her demands were minimal I don’t think many people would happily accept that kind of home settup

[quote onlychildhamster]@MondayYogurt she doesn't reject anything, she just says that it is an option and she ideally needs someone to care for her. As it is a recurring chronic illness. Her other option is renting until the money runs out. She says neither are great options but what you can do.[/quote]
That's good, then this research you're doing should really help her.

The loads over “offers over” thing in Scotland is only really true in Glasgow/Edinburgh, we just bought in the North East for under home report value, £2K over “offers over” price

It seems unwise to saddle herself with a large property which will still be her responsibility and likely contribute to the impact of stress and depression. Better to get a very small place with minimal ongoing expenses which would make her much more relaxed. It sounds like a lifestyle change would benefit her. When she is well does she have any interests?

@Flowers500

Oooh i have an idea!!! Is she dead set on having something to pass on after death or does she just want to be secure for life?

It sounds like the ideal solution for her would be to buy a flat in London on a short lease—say 50 or 60 years, that will last her for life but be cheap as extending would cost so much extra. It would still be saleable at the end (just not for anything like the price of an extended lease) but it would give her the exact lifestyle she wants for life, in her support system, plus she might be able to afford a 2nd bed for a live in carer?

We looked at some short lease flats in mansion blocks in Central London, they were £150k for 15 years for 1 bedroom basement flats that needed updating! It worked out at about 70% of the current rental value once you had factored in the service charges but not any renovations or upkeep. The full market value with a long lease would have only been about £550k. I doubt she will find anything for £100k, even in the outer zones.

The house you linked to is in a rough area and was auction so more likely to go for much more. The second property someone linked to was “cash only” which I would assume is for a reason.

There are no 4 bed houses in Sheffield that aren’t falling apart or reposed by the bank for £100k. Even houses in manor are selling for more than that now. Flats probably exist though. Also it’s not London but there are jobs here! We’re not all unemployed just because we’re not as big as Manchester! What does your friend do for work when she’s able?

I think she'd have to look at South Wales to get anything with several bedrooms for that price. Places like Maesteg and Merthyr. I don't know how easy they are to do without a car.